Entanglement of a Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) in Coulter Spiderling (Boerhaavia coulteri)

Palmer, Geoffrey H.; Gwinn, R. Nathan; Gwinn, Jessica E.

doi:10.1894/jg-01.1

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…By utilizing a small number of perches in a small territory, owls may rely on spatial memory of their environment to avoid collisions with large objects ( Martin 2017 ). Nevertheless, owls collide with environmental objects such as adhesive vegetation ( Palmer et al. 2009 ; Rodríguez et al.…”

Section: How Owls Huntmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and Ecology of Silent Flight in Owls and Other Flying Vertebrates

Clark

LePiane

Liu

2020

Integrative Organismal Biology

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Synopsis We raise and explore possible answers to three questions about the evolution and ecology of silent flight of owls: (1) do owls fly silently for stealth, or is it to reduce self-masking? Current evidence slightly favors the self-masking hypothesis, but this question remains unsettled. (2) Two of the derived wing features that apparently evolved to suppress flight sound are the vane fringes and dorsal velvet of owl wing feathers. Do these two features suppress aerodynamic noise (sounds generated by airflow), or do they instead reduce structural noise, such as frictional sounds of feathers rubbing during flight? The aerodynamic noise hypothesis lacks empirical support. Several lines of evidence instead support the hypothesis that the velvet and fringe reduce frictional sound, including: the anatomical location of the fringe and velvet, which is best developed in wing and tail regions prone to rubbing, rather than in areas exposed to airflow; the acoustic signature of rubbing, which is broadband and includes ultrasound, is present in the flight of other birds but not owls; and the apparent relationship between the velvet and friction barbules found on the remiges of other birds. (3) Have other animals also evolved silent flight? Wing features in nightbirds (nocturnal members of Caprimulgiformes) suggest that they may have independently evolved to fly in relative silence, as have more than one diurnal hawk (Accipitriformes). We hypothesize that bird flight is noisy because wing feathers are intrinsically predisposed to rub and make frictional noise. This hypothesis suggests a new perspective: rather than regarding owls as silent, perhaps it is bird flight that is loud. This implies that bats may be an overlooked model for silent flight. Owl flight may not be the best (and certainly, not the only) model for “bio-inspiration” of silent flight.

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Section: How Owls Huntmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and Ecology of Silent Flight in Owls and Other Flying Vertebrates

Clark

LePiane

Liu

2020

Integrative Organismal Biology

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“…In addi>on, plants such as the Arc7um burdocks (Asteraceae) have been men>oned in various reports and have caught at-ten>on because of their impact on migrant and local passerines in Manitoba (Canada) (Underwood & Underwood 2013, Harms 2022). Moreover, Palmer et al (2009) and Wilder (2019) reported entanglements by Boerhavia spiderlings (Nyctaginaceae) in Arizona (USA) of a Western Screech-Owl Megascops kennico@i, a Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura, and various passerines. Here, we document, for the first >me, the entanglement and mortality of birds by a plant in con>nental South America, specifically by the dry fruits of the zapallo caspi tree Pisonia zapallo, Nyctaginaceae.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…S>ll it is unusual to find as many cases as we did in such a short period of >me. Most reports on bird entanglement by plant structures involve one or a couple of individuals per finding (i.e., Donelly & Webber 1974, Palmer et al 2009. Previous reports have performed systema>c searches that summed up to 39 birds (Hinam et al 2004, Underwood & Underwood 2013, Wilder 2019) in successive regional visits.…”

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confidence: 99%

Bird Entanglement and Mortality by Fruits of the Zapallo Caspi Tree Pisonia Zapallo in the Dry Chaco, Argentina

Martínez-Gómez

Almeida²,

Turner

et al. 2023

Ornitol. Neotrop.

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∙ Bird entanglement by plants may be globally widespread, but it is not a frequently studied phenomenon, and records in different regions of the world are still scarce. During a short visit to the El Impenetrable National Park, Chaco province, Argentina, in October–November 2022, we recorded 15 incidental cases of birds entangled or trapped by fruits of the tree Pisonia zapallo. Our report involves 12 bird species from eight families, with a wide range of body sizes and masses. To our knowledge, this is the first documented report on this phenomenon in continental South America.

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A true “migrant trap”: Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) entanglement as a recurring cause of avian entrapment and mortality

Wilder

2019

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology

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Entanglement of a Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) in Coulter Spiderling (Boerhaavia coulteri)

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Evolution and Ecology of Silent Flight in Owls and Other Flying Vertebrates

Evolution and Ecology of Silent Flight in Owls and Other Flying Vertebrates

Bird Entanglement and Mortality by Fruits of the Zapallo Caspi Tree Pisonia Zapallo in the Dry Chaco, Argentina

A true “migrant trap”: Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae) entanglement as a recurring cause of avian entrapment and mortality

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